2012 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards Finalists Announced

The Top 4 Finalists have been announced for the 2012 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, with perennial Los Angeles nominees Eric Alperin (American Bartender of the Year) and The Varnish (Best American Cocktail Bar, World’s Best Cocktail Bar) joined by La Descarga (Best High Volume Cocktail Bar, pictured above) and Rivera (Best Restaurant Bar). Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Tales of the Cocktail is an internationally acclaimed festival of cocktails, cuisine and culture taking place in New Orleans July 25-29, 2012. From the Tales of the Cocktail press release:

“Through its annual Spirited Awards®, Tales of the Cocktail® recognizes the bartenders, bars, writers and cocktail experts that continue to push the cocktail industry into new, exciting directions. To embody the ideals with which Tales of the Cocktail® was originally founded, these awards were developed to recognize both national and international honorees across 17 categories.”

When the Top 10 Finalists were announced in May, Los Angeles looked poised to make a strong showing at this year’s ceremony. Along with Alperin, Vincenzo “The Godfather” Marianella was named a finalist for American Bartender of the Year, while Harvard & Stone was a finalist in the same categories as The Varnish: Best American Cocktail Bar and World’s Best Cocktail Bar. Other finalists included La Descarga (Best American Cocktail Bar, Best High Volume Cocktail Bar), Rivera, Seven Grand (Best High Volume Cocktail Bar), and The Spare Room (World’s Best Hotel Bar). LA-based writer Dan “The Imbiber” Dunn (Best Cocktail Writing – Author, Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book) and Honorary LA Citizen Dave Stolte of Home Bar Basics (Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book) were also recognized.

Of that stellar group of Top 10 Finalists, Alperin, The Varnish, La Descarga and Rivera made the cut and received the coveted invitations to New Orleans. They’ll have plenty of support at the Spirited Awards, if the early reports about the LA crew that’s preparing to invade the Big Easy hold true. The sixth annual Spirited Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, July 28th.